Hortiforum

General Info – Borojo

Native to the moist rainforests of Northwestern Colombia and Ecuador, the Borojo is a peculiar but regionally, beloved fruit used to craft a beverage known as jugo del amor or the love juice. The Borojo thrives in the tropical lowlands of North Western Colombia and Ecuador, specifically the Choco-Darien Moist Forests—a region adjacent to the Pacific Ocean characterised by consistently high rainfall and humidity. As such, Borojo excel in climates with year-round extreme humidity and rainfall, exhibiting some tolerance to flooding but lacking resistance to drought.
The Borojo is tolerant of heavier soils in warmer climates and shows a preference for acidic soils. As a small rainforest understory plant, it reaches a height of up to 6 metres, remaining beneath the canopy where it receives filtered or partial sunlight. This preference makes the Borojo well-suited for understory locations, although it can adapt to full sun exposure. Borojo fruit take up to a year from flowering to maturity, ripening to the size of an orange, with a soft, brown skin and a thick brown pulp. The smooth pulp boasts a sweet and tangy flavour reminiscent of Apple, Plum, and Vanilla. While some enjoy eating the fruit by hand, it is more commonly used in preserves or desserts to mask the slight bitterness.
Borojo is consumed throughout South America, particularly in Colombia, where the supposedly aphrodisiac fruit is transformed into a juice known as jugo del amor, the love juice, by combining it with water and milk. Due to the fruit’s delicate nature when ripe—with its soft skin and mushy flesh—it may require bagging to prevent it being damaged when falling to the groun. When not consumed promptly, it is recommended to remove the pulp from the fruit and store it. Belonging to the broad Rubiaceae family alongside species ranging from Coffee to Nauclea and ornamental Gardenias, the Borojo has broad, visibly veined leaves, and its male and female flowers exhibit noticeable differences in appearance. As a dioecious species, Borojo requires separate male and female plants for pollination and fruiting, necessitating a minimum of two plants for cultivation.
A unique and peculiar fruit little known outside its native range with particular growing requirements, the Borojo is a perfect fruit for a tropical food forest.

Plant Profile/Properties